Additional Information

The following information and links will help you succeed with insulin pump therapy.

My son's doctor, as part of her protocol, requires one parent to wear a loaner pump with saline for at least 24-36 hours. She then requires the potential pump patient to wear it for a weekend. This is a good exercise in finding out what it feels like etc....I purchased a few products from Unique Insulin Pump Accessories to make the experience a very positive one for my son. See their URL below. Additionally, we use either EMLA Cream (EMLA Anesthetic Disc) or ELA-MAX to numb the area of the site before inserting the infusion set.

Questions I often encounter... Who is the right candidate for the insulin
pump? How old should he/she be? These questions are always difficult to
answer. Past history (DCCT) indicates there is no way to predict who will
do well on a pump. Before initiating pump therapy, it is important to know
the child well enough to be confident they will have the necessary support
and motivation to be a successful pump user.....

Disetronic USA - order all free materials and videos about the
Disetronic Pump. The Spring '98 News features "Kids and Pumps". They also have a Disetronic Pump Chat one night per week at their site: Monday nights at 9:00 EST.

Unique Insulin Pump Accessories. Order a catalog or look at their online catalog today. These women provide wonderful ways to wear the pump comfortably and discreetly.

Insulin Pumpers Homepage has a wealth of information. Sign up for a mailing list or message board access. All your answers can be obtained here from other pumpers or parents of pumpers. Be sure to check out the kids stories here too. This is the quintessential pumping website - a tremendous resource.

And here's a recent post from the mailing list from Renee to Leann:

"LeeAnn:
Thank YOU for letting us all know success stories like this. What keeps me
coming back here ( aside from Sam & Sara's wit, Randall's sermons,
Barbara's expertise, etc...) is knowing what a difference we can all be
making in a child ( or an adult)'s life by encouraging, by empowering, by
supporting those who seek a better life with diabetes. I had lunch
yesterday with 7 other moms with diabetic kids- sort of a "free group
therapy" session ( other than paying for our lunch!!!) 4 of us had kids on
pumps & the other 4 were relating scenarios that we pump-moms no longer had
to confront ( like watching your child be excluded when a classmate's mom
brought in cupcakes for a birthday an hour after lunch). I turned to one of
them & said "THIS is the critical INTANGIBLE that the doctors never see
when they're scrutinizing bg records.....they never see the tears held
back, the haunted & hunted look in the mother's eyes, the wear & tear from
the unrelenting constancy of living by that @$#%* CLOCK, etc etc. Even if
pump therapy WAS harder than MDI ( which I don't believe it is), it would
be worth it if for no other reason than to LIBERATE a child from that
UNNATURAL way of life. Yes, many children with severe chronic illnesses do
not lead normal lives - nor does anyone expect them to, when they are
clearly handicapped or physically limited in some way. Our children,
fortunately, CAN act & look normal......why then shouldn't physicians be
encouraging them to benefit from "state of the art" options which deliver a
life style more in keeping with their capabilities?

For many people on the pump, you have already discovered the joy of the
freedom it gives you. As the parent of a preteen (but not much longer!) on
the pump, it gives me great joy to watch Amy do all she does, eat what she
wants, and then some!! She survived diabetes camp -- remember I said she
wasn't going to let them run her high? Well, she had only 1 high and that
was a post sight change high, and 2 lows. We are very happy with that! She
is now detasselling, something I know I would not have allowed her to do on
MDI. It involves 12 hour days, walking up and down row upon row of corn,
picking off the tassels. There is 1 half hour lunch break, and frequent
water breaks, but still, all day long, away from home at age 12, working --
no way!! Today was her 4th day -- her lowest bgs was a 78 today, which she
just popped glucose tabs in her mouth as she went along. I can truly say
she is learning to live life to the fullest with her pump, even if it is an
exhausting, muddy fullest!!

Next Sunday she is off for a week at church camp, also a 1st for her. I
will call in advance, just to make them aware of her needs. This one I'm a
bit nervous about, but Amy has shown great maturity and self discipline,
that it's the others I'm more concerned about!! What a great feeling!!

Children with DIABETES - Chat Rooms. Put in your name and
choose the Parents Chat or Pump Users room. You'll get lots of direct answers from parents with kids on the pump or adults using and considering the pump. . I'm often in the parent's chat room as are many parents of pumpers these days. The Pump Users room is new and is just taking off ...These chat rooms are open 24 hours a day. If someone isn't there, type in hello and soon someone else will show up. :-) Try the various rooms.

Diabetes Mall. The book Pumping Insulin by John Walsh is comprehensive and outdated, a bit daunting in scope, but really lets you know what pumping is all about. Also at his site is an important article about Pumping Humalog.